Rising water drags many into sleep

Rising water Review

Set on a mariner in Fremantle the play Rising water leaves much to be desired.   The dense language and eighty style jokes provide a hurdle in trying to follow the never ending dialogue between the four lifeless characters. 

Each character has retreated to the edges of Australia's coast to escape their previous lives that are full of regret.

Baxter the main character is a previous headmaster and geography teacher. He was exploited by the media when he was accused of 'fiddling' with a fifteen year old mother who he was helping get back on her feet.  This plus the separation from his family has left Baxter with a very cynical humor.  He sold up his past life and retreated to his boat 'shirley'.

The set consists of three boats sitting on a black stage which due to the lighting gives the illusion of rippled water.  These realistic boats capture most of your attention reflecting the characters who live on them.  Jackie's boat is refined and appears to have a sense of superiority over the others.  The two guys boats however need a little elbow grease and adopt their attitude of not caring about life.  The set remains the same throughout the entire performance.  Light is used to emphasis dramatic moments in the play such as Dee's drowning.  During which the lights become apart of the audience and drag them under.  Sounds are also used with the splashing of objects in the water and partying of lively souls.

Col can be seen as a fatherly figure to Baxter.  He to is running from his past.  Once an accountant Col was forced to flee his life when he got caught up in a corrupt government project.  Col's character is sarcastic and uses language far from that of a supposedly well educated accountant.

The arrival of British backpacker Dee sparks debate as she causes the secrets of the characters to be exposed.  Dee also provides a window into the racism associated with Perth culture.  She is portrayed as rough due to her rock star appearance but we discover that she is just a kid who was in search of the backpackers dream and is in search of the attention which she missed out on from her mother.

The arrival of Dee sparks concern from Jackie the supposed lesbian and recovering alcoholic.  Jackie appears to be of healthy soul and in need of companionship as she leaves her life of mystery behind and reaches out to Baxter in order to feed her curiosity. 

The quick banter between characters hints towards the idea that our culture is very shallow and pointless as Winton has a go at Australia day conveying the idea that it's just an excuse for a drink.

All the characters are hiding.  Their boats provide a camouflage and shields them from the change that they crave. Their laid back and ritual lifestyles leave the three main characters like the boats they live on drifting, tied to the one spot and never leaving it.

While known as a famous Australian author by many Winton still has much work to put in when it comes to play writing.  The witty banter between characters would have been far better suited to that of a novel.  To much was packed into the two hours. 

However I must say the special effects used during Dee's drawing and the set were phenomenal and managed to give the production the giant lift it needed.

Fix you- By Coldplay

The song in which i find the lyrics most compelling is Fix you by Coldyplay.  The lyrics are listed below.

When you try your best but you don't succeed
When you get what you want but not what you need
When you feel so tired but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse

And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can't replace
When you love someone but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

And high up above or down below
When you're too in love to let it go
But if you never try you'll never know
Just what you're worth

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

Tears stream down your face
When you lose something you cannot replace
Tears stream down your face
And I

Tears stream down your face
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes
Tears stream down your face

And I
Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones And I will try to fix you

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JI-o25K6B-E 

after researching the meaning behind the song it is no wonder that i can feel a strong attatchment between the singer and the lyrics.  the lead singer Chris wrote this song for his wife when her father died.  as he has obviously thrown his heart into these lyrics it is no wonder that everytime i listen to this song i feel revived.  the lyrics when sung truely have the power to lift your heart and fix you. 

the song is very descriptive of the raw emotions being felt by the victim and it is this that makes it so realateable. anyone who is feeling down or lost can relate to this song as it appeals to your emotions and sings to your heart.

the wrods used are very emotional and are written poetically.  with the use of well chosen wrods and the voice of Chris this song has the ability to move you and i'm sure that it helped to fix his wife's broken heart.

My favorite movie scene

I would have to say that one of my favorite scenes would have to be a scene from the movie 'The Notebook'. My favorite scene from the movie is when the two lovers Ellie and Noah are finally united and finally admit their love for one another. I like this scene because the whole movie has been working towards this moment. The scene is so happy that it lifts your heart and for the criers like myself it leaves you sobbing. The scene is shot from above from and angle and then zooms in as the couple link arms to show the distance closing between them. This scene is very bright and reflects the happiness of the mood. It's a simple scene but it says so much and is able to sum up the love between the two characters.

Psycho

Today in class we watched the world famous film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, Psycho. Fifty years on this movie is still known by all for its shower scene and thriller music.  Psycho became the benchmark for all horror movies and a benchmark for films in general.  This is due to the originality of the film.  The film although a little tame compared to modern day films pushed social boundaries of the sixties community. The film shows led actress Janet Leigh in her underwear numerous times and hints towards her having a rather promiscuous life with her secret lover.

The film pushed the viewer’s emotional boundaries.  The thought of someone being murdered in their shower was unthought-of and still is.  Therefore the main characters death in the shower added a new level to horror stories and the now famous scene has been remade numerous times.  The complex story line behind Psycho also added a new depth to horror movies. Filmmakers have also used the shooting style used to shot Psycho-making films far more sophisticated.  These shots include showing the neck of a character to show emotion and tension.   

Psycho almost didn't go to the cinemas when The MPAA refused to pass the film because they claimed they could see Janet Leigh's nipple during the shower scene. As a result of the apparent nudity the film bore an R rating.

The film managed to really grip its audience from the beginning.  The sharpness of the music made me feel a sense of tension.  The filming and portrayal of the characters left a feeling of unease in my stomach.  As many were shown as people who couldn’t be trusted and bore a mentally deranged side.  On watching the shower scene I felt extremely shaken.  This is mainly because I usually feel safe and secure in the shower and to see someone get killed in the shower leaves you feeling invaded and insecure.  It's quiet disturbing thinking that you could be killed in a place where usually you have privacy. 

The use of music in the film was very well done.  Music was used to set the mood and I think that the director used it to his advantage in order to create the perfect horror movie.

The idea of killing off the main character half way through the film was unthought-of of and therefore started a whole new idea about the sequence of films. 

Even though Psycho had an extremely low budget it turned out to be one of the most influential horror films in history because it broke the rules of society and challenged the world of film.  

Film Texts

Film Texts

Today in class we watched a series of snippets from films and responded to them.

Don’t look now -1973

For this film we watched the first 5minuets and after doing so a great deal could be drawn from the movie.  Tension is immediately established as scenes showing a small girl playing and her parents flip to and fro.  The young girl is wearing a red coat and from this we can tell that she is going to play a significant in the story.  She plays with a war figurine and this allows the viewer to place a sense of time with the film.  The young girl seems innocent and petit.  As the young girl plays we and taken into her house where her parents sit.  Her father’s expression is very dramatic and he seems withdrawn.  We can tell that something is at play and the switching between the girl and her parents quickens and their actions become mirrored.  When the girl drowns the scene moves in slow motion allowing you to feel the pain being experienced by the father.  The viewer is also left feeling sick in the stomach from the intensity of this scene.  The scene seems so real as the father tries in vain to save his little girl.  As the girl drowns the photo, which the father was looking, at previously beings to change shape and form to connect the girl’s tragic end to the photograph.

2001 A Space Odyssey-1968

The film opens with a very famous piece of music that reflects man’s superiority and conquers over the universe.  As the music plays the scene zooms in on the plants as they aligned and the sun can be seen rising over the earth symbolising the rise of man.  This scene illustrates man’s superiority and sets a new revolution in film that is now widely used by other directors.

The Seventh Seal- 1957

Images of the sky appear introducing the theme of God and a high power and sense of freedom. A bird flies through the skies showing the freedom and purity of life.  The music is the background is soft and the symphony of instruments combine to form a mood setter for the actions of characters.  A figure in a dark coat with a white face appears.  Automatically we can see that he is mysterious and his character is related to religion.

Fanny and Alexander- 1982

This film beginning with water flowing calmly and then hitting small bumps causing the flow to become rough and rapid.  This is symbolic of the character’s journey in the film and sets the scene perfectly.   The young boy at the beginning of the film is seen playing with puppets reflects the innocence of the boy.  He sits slumped over a sign of boredom on his face.  His sluggish actions give the viewer the feeling that his parents neglect the boy.  As he wonders through the dark and empty house we feel empty and neglect.  As he searches for life suspense builds through the music and slow movement of the opening of the door.  

Mini review of 'they're not your husband'

Today in class we read a rather unusual piece in that it was very different from what is usually read in class. This story explored troubled mind of a sales man named Earl Ober. Ober's character is written to be disliked. He is heavily influenced by the opinions of two men to the extent that he can no longer look at his wife with the eyes of lust he once had for her. From that moment on Earl becomes possessed and like an anorexic teenager he becomes fixated on the weight loss habits of his wife. Like a true salesman he polishes his product, makes it appeal to the buyer and talks it up. In this case the product is his wife. Personally I wouldn't be surprised if later on in the story she left her over critical, poor excuse for a lover.

Odour of Chrysanthemums by D.H Lawrence

Today in class we read an extract from the story 'Odour of Chrysanthemums' by D H Lawrence.

The story is set in 1911 and explores a time in Great Britain when industry was taking over. Britain's economy was expanding through exports. Many men were employed in the mines and they worked long hours in poor conditions. Poverty was common and living standards were low. Machines were taking priority over the people. Many workers went on strike and demanded better pay and work conditions. The lower class consisted of laborers and the cycle was rarely ever broken.

Lawrence sets his story in the countryside. However, this isn't the kind of countryside full of fresh air and singing birds. It's a dying place.  'The fields were dreary and forsaken'.  Although the environment in which the story is set may not be as dark and dreary as it is seen as being a lifeless place through the eyes of those that live there. Clinging to life the 'large bony vine clutched at the house' as though it were just holding on.  A layer of thick smog settles on everything present in the scene.  Nothing can escape the industrial pollution.  Nothing can exists.  Lawrence uses a lot of language techniques such as personification and similes to drill into the reader's mind a picture as dark as the Britain in his head.  An example of a simile from the text is when Lawrence describes the pit-bank.  He says it 'loomed up beyond the pond, flames like red sores licking its ashy sides'.  This description makes the reader associate the landscape with unpleasant images usually associated with hell.  Through Lawrence's creative use of language and words he is able to position the reader so they see 1911 Britain as a dark, evil and bland place. 

The people in the story are suppressed by the blanket of smog that rules their lives.  Many of them exists without personality.  They are mealy just objects.  They are not people.  At the beginning of the extract we are introduced to a women who is startled by the loud locomotive engine as it clunks past her.  The woman is symbolic as she represents the British people who have had to take second place to industrial machines.  Next we meet the miners.  A majority of Britain's working class.  They follow each other in a collective mass of suffering.  'Like shadows diverging home' they march through life.  Without freedom.  Without heart.  Without life.  A woman waits outside her house.  Her white apron runs a contrast to her surroundings and we find that she is the only beautiful creature left in the godforsaken land in which she lives.  'Imperious mien, handsome, with definite black eyebrows' she stands with an expression of 'disillusionment'.  Her son nearby is the perfect example of poverty.  He is dressed in hard material that has been cut down from a man's clothes.  He is a future miner and you can tell this by his actions.  Aged around five he acts like a stubborn teenager.  Weighed down by his environment he is far from the optimistic child he should be. 

This extract communicates what a sad time 1911 was for Britain's lower class.  As the industrial era loomed so did the destruction of the environment.  The lower class were forced to live in conditions that shouldn't have to be endured by anyone.  They took the back seat to Britain's exports.  This story is a perfect example of a Marxist text this is because it shows what living in the lower class was like.  Many people were trapped in the vicious cycle of poverty.  Their jobs and fate weighing them down.  The woman is a symbol of thousands of women who were stuck in lives where their children were raised in poor environments and were married to lifeless men who sucked the end of a beer bottle until they could see no more.  

Overall the extract was a perfect depiction of life in 1911 and adds many depths to the way we as future readers see the industrial revolution.  Through clever writing techniques Laurence was able to paint the perfect picture of lower class life

My Personal Reading history

1. When I was one I was given the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear. I was immediately grasped by it’s rhythmic writing style and within a week I had memorised the entire book. 
2. During my early years of primary school I feel in love with the book “There’s a Hippo on my Roof Eating Cake”
3. During my early primary school years my mum used to read us a story from the original “Winnie the Pooh” every night before bed and I'd lap up every word. 
4. “the BFG” was one of my all time favourites. I could read it again and again and it got me through my last years of primary school.
5. In my opinion “to Kill a Mocking Bird” is most probably one of the best books written. It takes the reader on a journey they will never forget and explores human nature in the simplest way. Through the eyes of a child.
6. “the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn takes you into the mind of a young boy as he struggles with what he is told to be right and wrong and what he is finding to be right and wrong.

Walkabout

Today we watched the film walkabout searches many issues and through imagery is able to successfully portray the artificial lifestyle associated with urban lifestyle. The director adds images of tall office buildings that look down on the insignificant people below. These tall buildings dominate each scene. The feature if brick walls adds a sense of separation as the people are separated for their environment a place were little beauty can be found.

Large masses of people march through the streets. Moving without a cause. The bland clothes of office workers enforces the theme of looniness and artificial lifestyle. The barriers created between people are huge. People walk around, robots. Even the relationship between the mother and the father is fake. Not a word or gesture is shared between the two and little love can be found between them. The people lack personality and not even a smirk can be seen. The life has been squeezed out of the people.

In grey and white clothing the students sit in their big school. Unable to be themselves they are left robots to the system. The same clothes, hair and expression on every child leaves little life in these children. The soldiers marching through the streets confirms the synthetic lifestyle of the city.

Large buildings cover nature and make everything look small and swallow anything and everything up. All food and material items come in plastic. Urban life squeezes the life out of nature.  

Sylivia Plath: Superman and Paula Brown's New Snowsuit

On reading the story 'Superman and Paula Brown's Snowsuit' i was given the task to write up a paragraph on the history in which the story was set (1939). World war 2 began in 1939 between Germany and the world.  Also on the other side of the world for America a war was happening when Japan began to invade many of the countries in the Pacific Ocean.  This was a great concern to America with many of their allies under threat.  They decided to join the war.  During the time of the war it was very common for cinemas to show a short film before the main picture that went for about 20 minutes.  These short films tended to be news reports or Disney short films such as Mickey mouse.  Because not many peep had a Tv news reports and anti Germany or anti Japanese films were often shown.  Many of these films were gruesome and some were historically incorrect as they were a form of propaganda.

Snowdrops by Leslie Norris

Snowdrops tells the story of a young boy who is eagerly awaiting to see the snowdrops in his school yard.  All the  while he is oblivious to the world around him.

While the snowdrops feature in the story as an object they also play a roll in describing two issues explored text.  The snowdrops are very symbolic as they help describe the teacher (Miss Webster's) mood and the gradual maturity of the boy.

In the story the snowdrops are described as being fragile flowers that 'shake, and straighten gallantly''holding bravely' against the wind.  This description fits Miss Webster perfectly.  She was in a very fragile state after losing her companion.  Yet she came to school and braved the harsh winter just like snowdrops are said to do.  Miss Webster tried to stay strong 'she smiled', yet the cool wind of emotion spiraling insider her left her cadged behind iron gates as she began to 'cry aloud' for the man she had once loved.

The boy is the main character in the story.  His development can be reflected in the growth of the snowdrops.  'The snowdrops had been asleep under the ground, but now they were up, growing in the garden'.  Like the flowers the boy grows.  Originally we see him as being a young boy, naive (thought Miss Webster was upset about her finger after two hints were dropped about the Meridith boy's death) and living in his own world ('he looked around for Miss Webster to explain these simple flowers').  Like the flowers the boy grows to understand the harsh reality of death and grief as his well admired teacher weeps by the iron gate.  The boy is forced to confront the real world and the heavy emotions associated with it.  Just like the snowdrops confront the cool weather and all it has to offer.

There are three main characters in the story that really stand out.  The boy, Miss Webster and Edmund all have their own personalities that they contribute to the story.

Not once do we hear the name of the main character.  His character is one that many adults can feel an attachment to as his mind is a perfect example of the typical child.   We are taken on a journey with him as he reaches a mile stone in his life that will shape his future self.  His appreciation and curiosity for something as simple as a sandwich is an example of how simple minded he is. although he has bacon he is astounded to find that the bacon in his sandwich can taste so differently and be 'incredibly new and marvellous'.  Where most people like Edmund will simply say 'it's only bacon'.  Stuck in a world where the promise of seeing snowdrops rules his life the boy sees his world in black and white.  Oblivious to what goes on around him (the death of the Meridith boy) the boy sees only what concerns him.  Whether it be the traffic his been told to avoid, his drawing of a robin or the possibility of flowers the boy is unable to think outside the box.  However, seeing his teacher cry is something that opens his eyes to the emotion of grief and how it can consume a person.

Miss Webster is the young teacher idolised by the boy who was 'pleased' when she approved of his actions and sought her knowledge 'he looked around for Miss Webster to explain'.  Immediately we can establish  her characters position in the story.  She is a sweet young women.  to her students she is like a God and the slightest shift in her mood leaves them 'frightened'. While she is greatly admired by the boy we are also exposed to her more fragile side as she morns the death of her lover.  The 'poor girl' as the boy's mother refers to her as has her own personal funeral.  Dressed in black she comes to school and all the while morns to Meridith boy's death.  Like the boy's robin Miss Webster beings the day 'standing up bravely, throwing out [her] chest to sing'.  However the heavy emotion of grief is to much and her sweet character is left in pieces.  Exposed to her frightened and confused students.

There is a great contrast between the main character and his good friend Edmund.  The main character lives in his own little world. He is lost in the world of innocence.  While Edmund is a brave, energetic and a far more street wise person then his friend.  Edmund is constantly joking around 'Edmund told a joke' and having fun.  Which he does in front of the teacher's to his friend's amazement 'Edmund was very brave'.  The main characer looks up to Edmund and is constantly looking for his support when he is unsure.  The main character sees Edmund as a very brave and strong.  When the boy is unsure he looks for Edmund's opinion.  An example of this is when the boy asks Edmund what is in the sandwich. Edmund has reached a maturity far from the one illustrated in the boy.  The magic that engulfs the young child's mind is absent from Edmund's mind.  Edmund has no interest in the flowers that entrance his friend's mind.  'I don't care because I've seen some already'. Edmund is making the transmission from childhood to adulthood.  He has already been exposed to some of the harsh realities of life.